Chernin's charms could attract Disney
Industry insiders can see the News Corp. president succeeding Michael Eisner.
By Sallie Hofmeister | Los Angeles Times
Posted October 31, 2004
He's the rare Hollywood executive who's as comfortable with a balance sheet as giving notes on a script. Private, even shy, he confides mainly in one person -- his wife. He can appear ruthless, showing little emotion when firing a friend.
If you guessed Michael Eisner, guess again. But you wouldn't be the first to spot a resemblance between Walt Disney Co.'s top executive and Peter Chernin, the president of News Corp.
"Peter has that rare quality of having both left-brain and right-brain strength," said Jeff Shell, who has worked at both Disney and News Corp. and is now chief executive of Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. "One of the only other people I've met like that is Michael Eisner."
As the Disney board searches for a new chief executive officer -- a process it plans to complete by June -- Chernin's name is high on the short list of contenders. Although the 53-year-old executive embodies some of Eisner's best qualities, he is free of other traits that have made the Disney chief vulnerable to criticism.
Eisner can be cold, thin-skinned and autocratic. He's been accused of chasing off some of Disney's best executives.
Chernin, on the other hand, is so disarmingly charming that even some people he's ousted don't hold a grudge. Not for nothing have some within News Corp. called him the "smiling cobra."
In July, when Chernin signed up for five more years at News Corp., Wall Street analysts predicted he was staying put. With an annual compensation package of at least $20 million, Chernin could pull down more than his strong-willed boss, News Corp. Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch. Eisner made only $7.25 million last year.
Still, people close to Chernin say he would jump at the chance to step out of Murdoch's shadow and into Eisner's shoes, even if it meant a pay cut.
At News Corp., Chernin has hit a ceiling. The 73-year-old Murdoch is grooming his children, now in their 30s, to take the helm of the family-controlled company. Knowing this, Chernin made sure he could accept a better offer if it came along: His employment contract lacks the standard noncompete clause that would prevent him from jumping to a rival.
Both Chernin and Murdoch would not comment for this article.
Many Hollywood insiders say Chernin is just what Disney needs: creative, cool in a crisis and inspirational. After 15 years at the fastest-growing and most daring of the major media conglomerates, he also has the know-how to invigorate Disney.
"Peter is a great listener; he gives guidance, but he lets people do their job," said Tom Sherak, who worked under Chernin at News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox Film Corp. before becoming a partner at Revolution Studios.
Although News Corp. owns major media properties around the world, Chernin's primary role is to oversee Fox Entertainment Group, the publicly traded U.S. subsidiary of Murdoch's Australian-born company. It includes 20th Century Fox, the Fox broadcast network, a leading TV station group, a TV production arm, and cable-TV channels such as FX, Fox Sports Networks and Fox News Channel.
Since Chernin became News Corp.'s president and chief operating officer in 1996, his group's revenue has doubled. Its profit has soared. Chernin has helped Fox become a major producer of prime-time television, a consistent winner at the box office and a big beneficiary of the DVD boom.
But some question whether, based on his track record at News Corp., he has the vision to lead Disney in two of its cornerstone operations: theme parks and animation.
News Corp. made an ill-fated venture into theme parks, opening Backlot in 1999 at its Fox Studios in Australia. The park, designed to showcase the company's movie-making prowess, closed in 2001 because of poor attendance.
As for animation, film industry sources say Chernin was so nervous about the company's continuing financial losses that he considered getting out of the business altogether. In fact, he tried to find a studio partner to shoulder the risk for the 2002 computer-animated comedy Ice Age, which cost an estimated $60 million.
Fortunately, he couldn't find one. The film was such a huge hit that Chernin reversed course and bought Blue Sky, the movie's animation production house. Blue Sky's next offering is Robots, due out in March.
Throughout his career, Chernin has kept his own counsel, with few close friends in the industry. His confidante is his wife, Megan, who once worked as a lawyer in the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office; they have three children.
His professional loyalty is similarly focused. As he likes to tell subordinates, "I have a constituency of one" -- referring to Murdoch, whose distaste for the rituals of Hollywood is legendary.
In the search for Disney's next leader, Chernin's is not the only name on the table. Terry Semel, the former Warner Bros. chief who has turned Yahoo Inc. into an Internet powerhouse, also is considered a strong candidate, if he could be persuaded to leave. And Eisner has endorsed Disney President Robert Iger for the job.
Yet Chernin supporters say that, given the revolt in March by Disney shareholders unhappy with Eisner's management and the company's long-term performance, Chernin may be just what they're looking for: an Eisner-like outsider who could offer a fresh start.
"He stands his ground and certainly has an ego," said television producer Sandy Grushow, who oversaw the Fox television network and its production arm before resigning this year. "But he's able to subjugate it, as his years working for Murdoch demonstrate."
Sallie Hofmeister is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, a Tribune Publishing newspaper.
Industry insiders can see the News Corp. president succeeding Michael Eisner.
By Sallie Hofmeister | Los Angeles Times
Posted October 31, 2004
He's the rare Hollywood executive who's as comfortable with a balance sheet as giving notes on a script. Private, even shy, he confides mainly in one person -- his wife. He can appear ruthless, showing little emotion when firing a friend.
If you guessed Michael Eisner, guess again. But you wouldn't be the first to spot a resemblance between Walt Disney Co.'s top executive and Peter Chernin, the president of News Corp.
"Peter has that rare quality of having both left-brain and right-brain strength," said Jeff Shell, who has worked at both Disney and News Corp. and is now chief executive of Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. "One of the only other people I've met like that is Michael Eisner."
As the Disney board searches for a new chief executive officer -- a process it plans to complete by June -- Chernin's name is high on the short list of contenders. Although the 53-year-old executive embodies some of Eisner's best qualities, he is free of other traits that have made the Disney chief vulnerable to criticism.
Eisner can be cold, thin-skinned and autocratic. He's been accused of chasing off some of Disney's best executives.
Chernin, on the other hand, is so disarmingly charming that even some people he's ousted don't hold a grudge. Not for nothing have some within News Corp. called him the "smiling cobra."
In July, when Chernin signed up for five more years at News Corp., Wall Street analysts predicted he was staying put. With an annual compensation package of at least $20 million, Chernin could pull down more than his strong-willed boss, News Corp. Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch. Eisner made only $7.25 million last year.
Still, people close to Chernin say he would jump at the chance to step out of Murdoch's shadow and into Eisner's shoes, even if it meant a pay cut.
At News Corp., Chernin has hit a ceiling. The 73-year-old Murdoch is grooming his children, now in their 30s, to take the helm of the family-controlled company. Knowing this, Chernin made sure he could accept a better offer if it came along: His employment contract lacks the standard noncompete clause that would prevent him from jumping to a rival.
Both Chernin and Murdoch would not comment for this article.
Many Hollywood insiders say Chernin is just what Disney needs: creative, cool in a crisis and inspirational. After 15 years at the fastest-growing and most daring of the major media conglomerates, he also has the know-how to invigorate Disney.
"Peter is a great listener; he gives guidance, but he lets people do their job," said Tom Sherak, who worked under Chernin at News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox Film Corp. before becoming a partner at Revolution Studios.
Although News Corp. owns major media properties around the world, Chernin's primary role is to oversee Fox Entertainment Group, the publicly traded U.S. subsidiary of Murdoch's Australian-born company. It includes 20th Century Fox, the Fox broadcast network, a leading TV station group, a TV production arm, and cable-TV channels such as FX, Fox Sports Networks and Fox News Channel.
Since Chernin became News Corp.'s president and chief operating officer in 1996, his group's revenue has doubled. Its profit has soared. Chernin has helped Fox become a major producer of prime-time television, a consistent winner at the box office and a big beneficiary of the DVD boom.
But some question whether, based on his track record at News Corp., he has the vision to lead Disney in two of its cornerstone operations: theme parks and animation.
News Corp. made an ill-fated venture into theme parks, opening Backlot in 1999 at its Fox Studios in Australia. The park, designed to showcase the company's movie-making prowess, closed in 2001 because of poor attendance.
As for animation, film industry sources say Chernin was so nervous about the company's continuing financial losses that he considered getting out of the business altogether. In fact, he tried to find a studio partner to shoulder the risk for the 2002 computer-animated comedy Ice Age, which cost an estimated $60 million.
Fortunately, he couldn't find one. The film was such a huge hit that Chernin reversed course and bought Blue Sky, the movie's animation production house. Blue Sky's next offering is Robots, due out in March.
Throughout his career, Chernin has kept his own counsel, with few close friends in the industry. His confidante is his wife, Megan, who once worked as a lawyer in the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office; they have three children.
His professional loyalty is similarly focused. As he likes to tell subordinates, "I have a constituency of one" -- referring to Murdoch, whose distaste for the rituals of Hollywood is legendary.
In the search for Disney's next leader, Chernin's is not the only name on the table. Terry Semel, the former Warner Bros. chief who has turned Yahoo Inc. into an Internet powerhouse, also is considered a strong candidate, if he could be persuaded to leave. And Eisner has endorsed Disney President Robert Iger for the job.
Yet Chernin supporters say that, given the revolt in March by Disney shareholders unhappy with Eisner's management and the company's long-term performance, Chernin may be just what they're looking for: an Eisner-like outsider who could offer a fresh start.
"He stands his ground and certainly has an ego," said television producer Sandy Grushow, who oversaw the Fox television network and its production arm before resigning this year. "But he's able to subjugate it, as his years working for Murdoch demonstrate."
Sallie Hofmeister is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, a Tribune Publishing newspaper.
